Up on Toronto's roof (CN Tower)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	CN Tower
Date:	20/10/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great experience

Disadvantages: Nothing

Our recent trip to Canada started and ended in Toronto, and with just over a day to kill before the flight brought us back to good old Blighty, there were a couple of things we really wanted to do. One of these was to travel up to the top of what was once the world's tallest free standing structure, the CN Tower.

To be honest, the Tower, which sits a few blocks away from the shoreline of Lake Ontario, is not the most accessible place if you approach it from the north. You arrive with too many stairs and bridges to negotiate, and if you don't enter the building at the right point, you can get lost.

However, once you do get inside, it's quite simple. You join the queue to buy the tickets, and go to the top of the tower. The queue was huge, but as there are limited ticket tariffs, it went down quite quickly. There are a few options. You can go to the SkyPod, which is the pod near the top, or you can pay a bit extra and go right to the very top and get a motion theatre ride. We just went to the Skypod, which cost $21.99 for an adult, and our 5 year old son, Will, got in for $14.99. On top of this, you have to allow for taxes, which are NOT included in the price of anything you see in this area of Canada, something which continually caught us off guard.

When you get in to the lift, it feels quite normal, not much room, and then it starts. Shooting up at 15mph, you're at the Skypod in next to no time. It's 140 stories or so high, and your ears pop halfway up. It's quite weird. Emerging out onto the circular pod, it's like being in a big room that curves round the central tower. It's all indoors, but there are revolving doors through which you can emerge onto a completely enclosed walkway, with metal grilling protecting (and preventing) you from going over the edge.

There is a restaurant in the Pod, which is very reasonable priced, although we didn't eat there. There are numerous vending machines, subtlely positioned, and the whole thing seems quite well maintained, with a modern feel all around. There is a glass floor which can supposedly take the weight of 15 or so hippos, and it's quite spectacular to stand on it and look down, through your feet, seeing the ground all that way below you.

But it's the views out of the huge windows all around the pod that are worth the experience. The views are breathtaking, and we were lucky to get them on a clear day. Toronto Island looks fab from up top, and the high rise buildings of Toronto look tiny in comparison to where you are standing. We could see the cast expanse of Toronto, and you really get a feel for how big the place is, with the beautiful lake complementing it nicely on the other side.

We spent a good hour or so at the top, just walking round, taking photos and admiring the view. We went up with a couple of friends, and while we were up there, we spoke to another couple who were down by the waterfront. We managed to work out where they were, and one of them ran around like an idiot so we could spot them. It was surreal!

Coming back down was very similar to going up. Ears went, and it was very quick. We all enjoyed it immensely, and managed to resist the temptation to buy loads of things from the inevitable gift shop that the lift brings you out into. We had a great experience visiting the CN Tower. next time we go, we may even have lunch up there. Highly recommended!

Summary: Toronto's ridiculously high tower